Bryce Harper says he was ‘close’ to joining Giants in 2018

Watching Bryce Harper take aim for McCovey Cove was almost a nightly occurrence for the San Francisco Giants.

It’s long been known that the Giants have struggled to attract top-shelf free agents over the years, missing out on the likes of Aaron Judge, Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, and others, but San Francisco was appealing to Harper when the star went through his lone free agent process back in 2018.

The then-26-year-old had a lengthy free-agent process led by super agent Scott Boras, one that culminated in a 13-year, $330 million pact with the Phillies as free agency got underway.

Since signing with Philadelphia, Harper has continued to add to his Hall of Fame case by securing the 2021 National League MVP Award, three Silver Slugger Awards, two All-Star nods, and four trips to the postseason out of seven seasons.

Although Harper is now shaping up to be a Phillie for the rest of his career, the star opened some eyes with some comments this week ahead of the World Baseball Classic.

“It came down to Phillies, Giants. … It was close.”

Bryce Harper revealed he nearly picked the Giants in free agency years ago 👀

(via @PatMcAfeeShow) pic.twitter.com/IvdIYPlrhL

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) March 2, 2026

More on Bryce Harper & the SF Giants

Bryce Harper will be joining Aaron Judge, Bobby Witt Jr., teammate Kyle Schwarber, and many other MLB stars for the World Baseball Classic as Pool Play games are set to begin this week.

During an appearance on ESPN’s The Pat McAfee Show, Harper made some interesting comments as the group discussed that Team USA will play an exhibition game against the Giants on Tuesday at 12:05 pm PT.

Harper brought up that he almost joined San Francisco in 2018 and gave the ultimate reason he chose to ink a deal with the Phillies instead: Four-time World Series-winning manager Bruce Bochy, who departed as Giants manager following the 2019 season.

“They’re probably thinking, man, he could have been here with the Giants, but he’s not,” Harper said in response to chirping he may hear from opposing players against San Francisco on Tuesday. “It came down to the Phillies and the Giants.”

“San Diego, a couple of other teams were in there, but at the end of the day, it really came down to Philly and San Francisco.”

“It was close. The thing that killed me was Bochy was retiring.”

If Bochy sticks around a few more seasons, it’s worth wondering if that would have been enough to lure Harper to Oracle Park for the long haul.

On the heels of three World Series titles (2010, 2012, 2014), and four postseason appearances from 2010-2016, Bochy was replaced by Gabe Kapler before the 2020 season.

Bochy went on to manage the Texas Rangers from 2023 to 2025, winning the 2023 World Series in his first season at the helm. The future Hall of Fame manager is now back with the Giants organization in a front office role under former catcher and current President of Baseball Operations, Buster Posey.

The San Francisco Giants may not have Bryce Harper, but they’ve been dipping further into the free agent market in recent years.

Matt Chapman, Willy Adames, Jung Hoo Lee, and Luis Arraez are some notable free agents San Francisco has signed over the past few offseasons–but having Bryce Harper in the fold will always be a ‘what if’ in Giants Land.

Upcoming San Francisco Giants & MLB Offseason Schedule

• Mid-February – Pitchers & Catchers report for Spring Training
• Saturday, February 21st – @ Seattle Mariners (ST Opener)
• Wednesday, March 25th – vs. New York Yankees – 5:05 PM PT (Opening Day)

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